The Changing Definition Of The American Dream

My grandfather and his brothers came to America as teens and young men.  They came here from Italy on a boat.  It was  long trip but necessary to reach for something unattainable in their native land.  They, like millions more before and after them, had heard of a land of abundant freedoms, liberties and opportunities.  They came here knowing if they worked as hard as they could, they could prosper for their families and themselves.

I come from a long line of builders on my father’s side.  When my grandfather and his brothers got to New York, they waited in line at Ellis Island and proved they were not infected with disease and weren’t carrying any bombs.  They were logged in and allowed to start their new lives.  It was a system that worked and without which we would not have seen the incredible growth in this country, population-wise as well as in industry and prosperity.